Yakishime tea bowl (Tamba clay)
Yakishime tea bowl (Tamba clay)
Description
What only fire can decide — a tea bowl born from the ancient clay of Tamba
This tea bowl is the work of Yukitaka Hatsuda, a ceramicist whose entire practice is built around a single, unwavering conviction: let the earth and the fire speak for themselves.
Hatsuda works with the great historic clays of Japan — Shigaraki, Iga, Echizen, Tamba — not out of habit, but out of curiosity and discipline. Each clay carries its own character: its density, its color, its particular way of responding to fire. Rather than applying a glaze, he chooses the path of yakishime — firing without glaze — and entrusts the wood ash and the flames to create the surface. What the Japanese call shizen-yu: a natural glaze born solely from the dialogue among earth, wood, and fire.
This philosophy runs through his entire body of work. It is embodied here in a bowl made from the clay of Tamba — one of Japan's six great historic kiln traditions, with roots stretching back to the twelfth century — darker and denser than Shigaraki clay, lending this piece a quality of gathered calm.
Hatsuda fires his work in his own anagama pit kiln, located in Kasatori, Kyoto Prefecture — set apart from the world, in a natural setting that invites stillness and deep attention to the material. Through his own method of high-density, high-temperature firing — drawing air deep into the kiln — the piece receives the baptism of flame at temperatures exceeding 1,300°C. The ash carried by the flames settles on the bowl's surface, melts, and vitrifies into a natural glaze with a soft, pearlescent sheen. Traces of flame, reddish highlights, and areas of charring mark the surface — not as flaws, but as the living signatures of fire.
Each piece is one of a kind: no flame ever travels the same path twice.
The bowl sits naturally in the palm. It is made for tea — matcha or everyday — but will serve equally well for soup or simply for the quiet of a morning.
Dimensions: W 12.3 cm × D 11.4 cm × H 12 cm
Material: Ceramic — Tamba clay, yakishime firing in anagama pit kiln at Kasatori, Kyoto Prefecture
Artist: Yukitaka Hatsuda
Shipped from Kyoto, Japan
■Important Notes Regarding High-Temperature-Fired pieces
This product was fired in a pit kiln at a temperature exceeding 1300°C. In a pit kiln, the falling ash melts and takes on a pearly appearance, while traces of charring and reddish highlights appear on the surfaces of the pieces. These color variations are what give wood firing in a pit kiln its unique charm. Because this item is made from raw, unsifted clay, the clay particles are not uniform in size and contain many small pebbles, which is why water leakage often occurs. Therefore, after being treated to prevent leakage, flower vases are filled with water for about a week after firing, and tea bowls, sake cups, and sake bottles are filled with water for a day and a night to check for leaks. However, water leakage may reappear during use. If you can identify the exact spot where the leak is occurring, apply a small amount of instant glue to the tip of a needle and seal the gap with pinpoint precision to stop the leak.
In the case of tea bowls, the gap is sometimes naturally filled over time as matcha residue accumulates with use, leading to improvement, so we would recommend taking a patient, long-term view of this natural process.
Shipping and customs
Shipped from Kyoto, Japan, via EMS.
Delivery charges will be automatically calculated and displayed when you enter the delivery address during checkout in the shopping cart.
Note for international buyers: Customs duties, taxes, and import charges are not included in the item price or shipping cost. These charges are the buyer's responsibility.
Return policy
Customs duties and taxes: For international orders, customs duties, taxes, and import fees may be applied by your country's customs authorities upon arrival of the package. These charges are the sole responsibility of the recipient. We cannot predict or control these charges. Please contact your local customs office for more information.